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Apple's PR Coup

Apple hits a big number, but the implications are even bigger.

Apple(NASDAQ:AAPL) issued a press release this morning, announcing that App Store downloads have now topped the 3 billion mark.

It's certainly an impressive feat, given that Apple launched the applications marketplace only two summers ago. It took just six months to double up on the 1.5 billion downloads that the company chalked up during the App Store's rookie year.

The timing of the press release is certainly no accident. This was supposed to be Google's (NASDAQ:GOOG) day. The world's leading search engine has been prepping for today's Nexus One unveiling -- but in steps Apple to hog some of the attention.

Apple has a funny -- or tactically brilliant -- way of crashing the party. When Palm(NASDAQ:PALM) introduced its bar-raising Pre smartphone, Apple came back a few weeks later with a refreshed 3GS iPhone, complete with video-recording capability. Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT) Zune hasn't really made a dent in Apple's portable-media-player dominance, but it always seems to be outdone by iPod price cuts or spec upgrades.

This doesn't mean that Apple isn't entitled to App Store bragging rights. It has truly been a game-changer in the smartphone revolution. It has armed indie developers with the tools to get noticed, and it has breathed new life into app-savvy companies including Vonage(NYSE:VG) and Sirius XM Radio(NASDAQ:SIRI) that have approached smartphone apps as ways to generate incremental revenue.

However, there is no way that the timing of Apple's press release is a coincidence. Jobs has plenty of practice in pulling the rug from under his competitors -- and he just did it again.

Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz is starting to see more Apple products creep into his home lately, but he does not own shares in any of the companies in this story. He is also part of theRule Breakersnewsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early.The Fool has a disclosure policy.

Author

Rick has been writing for Motley Fool since 1995 where he's a Consumer and Tech Stocks Specialist. Yes, that's a long time with more than 20,000 bylines over those 22 years. He's been an analyst for Motley Fool Rule Breakers and a portfolio lead analyst for Motley Fool Supernova since each newsletter service's inception. He earned his BBA and MBA from the University of Miami, and he splits his time living in Miami, Florida and Celebration, Florida.
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